July 2, 2019 – Bucharest, Romania – Highlander Partners L.P., a leading middle market private investment firm based in Dallas, Texas, today announced the acquisition of the majority stake in the Ares Group (“Ares”). Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Bucharest, Ares is the leading private provider of interventional cardiology procedures in Romania, with 5 facilities today. Its medical team is composed of highly reputable interventional cardiologists and key opinion leaders from Romania and throughout Europe.

The founders of the business, Oren Iancovici and Iulian Plescan, will continue to serve in their Chief Executive Officer and Chief Development Officer roles, respectively. In partnership with Dr. Iancovici, Mr. Plescan and the rest of the existing Ares team, Highlander intends to accelerate growth by introducing new facilities around the country while also enhancing capabilities at existing Ares facilities. These efforts should significantly increase access to high-end interventional cardiology care for patients across Romania, which is currently limited.

Dr. Oren Iancovici, CEO and Founder of Ares, commented, “We believe that together with our new partners we will be strongly prepared to bring the business to the next level and expand our services to the entire country, while continuing to innovate in the field of endovascular medicine in Romania. Given the Highlander team’s extensive medical services investment expertise, we are convinced that we will have both a strong financial and strategic partner.”

Ben Slater, Director of Highlander Partners and Head of Highlander’s Romanian efforts, added, “We have spent two years assessing a variety of opportunities in Romania and are extremely pleased to announce our first investment in the country. Ares possesses all the qualities that we have been seeking. It is a market leading business led by an exceptional management team, participating in a space – private pay healthcare – that will become increasingly demanded as the Romanian economy continues to develop.”

Jeff Hull, President and CEO of Highlander Partners, added, “We are excited to combine Ares’ visionary founders with our local team, which has previously been deeply involved in several successful healthcare investments in Romania. We see tremendous growth potential in Ares and are equally motivated by its social impact.”

RTPR Allen & Overy acted as legal counsel of Highlander Partners and TS Partners as financial and tax advisor, while Toacse, Iavolschi & Associates acted as a legal counsel and Contradiction as financial advisor to Centrele de Excelenta Ares.

About Centrele de Excelenta Ares
Ares is the leader in the private interventional cardiology market in Romania, operating in five locations in Bucharest, Constanta and Cluj. It collaborates with a highly trained and experienced medical team, formed of leaders in cardiology from Romania and across Europe. Along with interventional cardiology procedures, Ares Centers also perform interventional radiology procedures. For more information on Ares’ medical team and procedures, please visit: https://medicina-interventionala.ro/en/

About Highlander Partners, L.P.
Highlander is a Dallas-based private investment firm with approximately $2 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Highlander Partners implements a “buy and build” investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com